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Afghanistan: An uneasy peace

Source:

The Nation

In January, Hamid Karzai, chairman of the Afghan interim administration, quietly signed the "Declaration of Essential Rights of Afghan Women."

This declaration guarantees equality
between men and women, equal protection under the law, equal right to education
in all disciplines, freedom of movement, freedom of speech and political
participation, and freedom to wear or not wear the burqa or any form of head
covering.

After five years of Taliban oppression, the worst in the
world for women, such freedoms are heartening indeed. Their exercise, however,
depends on certain conditions--not least of which is basic security--that do not
currently exist in Afghanistan.